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First, the article is about Maine where it is illegal for adults to pork seventeen year olds. Second, most states have laws against employers and teachers imposing sex on their underlings because they have power over those underlings to extract sex from them. Adults with power over children have a special and twisted advantage. Pedophiles have manipulating children into sexual “consent” down to a science, actually.

I know from your response to this that you “lean libertarian” as you beleive the world revolves around what each person finds personally acceptable to do to others. That is why I am not a libertarian. The immaturity and stupid of libertarianism is like dealing with wisdom and ethics of children who play in an imaginary world of the lord of the flies.

Actually, the age of consent is 16 in Maine. I just think we need to teach responsibility and expect people to learn it at a younger age. Again in this case, both parties are above the age of consent, which the government of Maine says so. We need to quit being hypocritical on sex laws. BTW, the definition of a pedophile is basically a person who preys on people who are under the age of puberty. If that was the case here, I'd be with you on throwing the book and the kitchen sink at the teacher since at those ages, they are certainly children, they do not have the capacity mentally or physically for such things. Again, I'd be for throwing the book at the teacher if she chased the kid down and he said "no." "No means no." However, I do not see it in this case.

We need to be truthful and treat sex as natural and be honest with our kids as well as arm them against the bad people out there and each of us needs to teach our values. I just think government power is getting carried away here and it enforces our hypocrisy on this subject.

It's like a co-worker said to me once. He made a good point that almost all of us can agree on 80% of things being right and wrong but the other 20% we debate on. He said that we live in a plural society where the 20% where there are times we might have to compromise between the sides to preserve freedom, "that's why I joined and fought with the Marines." He added, "for example, some people think homosexuality is wrong, others think it's OK and even others are middle of the road." He said, that's freedom of choice. Myself, on that one, I'm more middle of the road, I don' like it, but I do realize that we do have the freedom to go one way or another but we must also be responsible and accountable for our actions. I don't like the push for the gay agenda as it is going now nor the forcing of gay marriage either, but I do support the idea that, like anyone else, have the right to chase the American dream as far as their talents, training and merit can take them.

I just think that beyond basic Mosiac Laws, government is generally a poor enforcer of morality and when it does so beyond a certain point, it can become too authoritarian.

I'm pretty much "my own dog" on some of these issues, I generally get flak from both left and right at times. Many times I don't comment because of that. I think we will agree to disagree.